Eyewear with parametric audio unit

Abstract

Eyewear for outputting audio information to the wearer include an eyewear temple, which has at least one loudspeaker. The eyewear temple is configured for placement on an ear of the wearer and spaced apart from an ear opening of the wearer's ear so that the sound waves generated by the loudspeaker are transmitted over the surroundings to the spaced ear opening. The loudspeaker is an ultrasonic loudspeaker. The eyewear has a parametric audio unit that includes the ultrasonic loudspeaker and configured to generate an audible sound beam directed at the ear.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. Eyewear for outputting audio information to the ear of the wearer of the eyewear, the eyewear comprising:
 an eyewear temple defining an ear section configured to be worn spaced apart from an ear opening of the wearer; 
 an ultrasonic loudspeaker held in the ear section of the eyewear temple; 
 a parametric audio unit electrically connected to the ultrasonic loudspeaker; 
 wherein the eyewear temple is configured so that when the eyewear temple is placed as intended at the wearer's ear, then the ear section is spaced apart from the ear opening and disposed so that the sound waves generated by the ultrasonic loudspeaker are transmitted over the ear's surroundings to the ear opening; 
 wherein the parametric audio unit is configured to generate via the ultrasonic loudspeaker, an audible sound beam directed in a sound propagation direction toward the wearer's ear opening; and 
 wherein the parametric audio unit is configured to generate multiple virtual sources of audible sound arranged one behind the other in the sound propagation direction of the sound beam and add up in phase in the sound propagation direction. 
 
     
     
       2. The eyewear of  claim 1 , wherein the parametric audio unit includes an electronic chip in the form of an ASIC, wherein the electronic chip includes a modulator that is configured to modulate an ultrasonic signal from the ultrasonic loudspeaker in a way that produces at least one of the multiple virtual sources of audible sound, a primary wave, and a secondary wave. 
     
     
       3. The eyewear of  claim 1 , wherein the parametric audio unit includes a modulator that is configured to modulate an ultrasonic signal from the ultrasonic loudspeaker in a way that produces at least one of the multiple virtual sources of audible sound, a primary wave, and a secondary wave. 
     
     
       4. The eyewear of  claim 3 , wherein the modulator is configured in such a way that the modulated ultrasonic signal becomes demodulated due to air absorption into audible sound in the sound propagation direction with increasing distance from the ultrasonic loudspeaker. 
     
     
       5. The eyewear of  claim 3 , wherein the modulator is configured to modulate an amplitude of an ultrasonic carrier signal on the basis of an audio signal. 
     
     
       6. The eyewear of  claim 5 , wherein the parametric audio unit includes a signal source, which provides the audio signal to the modulator. 
     
     
       7. The eyewear of  claim 5 , wherein the parametric audio unit includes an oscillator, which provides the ultrasonic carrier signal to the modulator. 
     
     
       8. The eyewear of  claim 5 , wherein the parametric audio unit includes at least one filter configured for filtering the audio signal to become a filtered audio signal, and at least one dynamic compressor configured for reducing a fluctuation range of the filtered audio signal. 
     
     
       9. The eyewear of  claim 3 , wherein the parametric audio unit includes an amplifier for amplifying the modulated ultrasonic signal. 
     
     
       10. The eyewear of  claim 1 , wherein the parametric audio unit is configured to generate the sound beam by the ultrasonic loudspeaker to include a primary wave and a secondary wave following the primary wave in the sound propagation direction, which is demodulated due to air absorption. 
     
     
       11. The eyewear of  claim 10 , wherein when the eyewear temple is placed as intended at the wearer's ear, then an absorption length of the primary wave is less than or equal to a distance between the ultrasonic loudspeaker and the ear opening, wherein the absorption length is less than or equal to 2 cm. 
     
     
       12. The eyewear of  claim 1 , wherein the ultrasonic loudspeaker is a piezoelectric, MEMS sound transducer for generating ultrasound. 
     
     
       13. The eyewear of  claim 1 , wherein the ultrasonic loudspeaker is configured to define a sound beam axis, along which the sound beam is emittable in the sound propagation direction, and the ultrasonic loudspeaker is arranged at the eyewear temple in such a way that the sound beam of the ultrasonic loudspeaker propagating along the sound beam axis is directed toward the ear opening when the eyewear temple is placed as intended at the wearer's ear. 
     
     
       14. The eyewear of  claim 13 , wherein the ultrasonic loudspeaker includes at least one sound-generating element, which is deflectable in the direction of a stroke axis, for generating ultrasound, and wherein the stroke axis of the sound-generating element is arranged in parallel to the sound beam axis of the ultrasonic loudspeaker. 
     
     
       15. The eyewear of  claim 13 , wherein the ultrasonic loudspeaker includes at least one sound-generating element, which is deflectable in the direction of a stroke axis, for generating ultrasound and/or in that the stroke axis of the sound-generating element is arranged concentrically to the sound beam axis of the ultrasonic loudspeaker. 
     
     
       16. The eyewear of  claim 13 , wherein the sound-generating element of the ultrasonic loudspeaker is arranged at an outer side of the eyewear temple in an outer-side recess. 
     
     
       17. The eyewear of  claim 13 , wherein the sound-generating element of the ultrasonic loudspeaker is arranged at an outer side of the eyewear temple in a planar manner with respect to the outer side. 
     
     
       18. Eyewear for outputting audio information to the ear of the wearer of the eyewear, the eyewear comprising;
 an eyewear temple defining an ear section configured to be worn spaced apart from an ear opening of the wearer; 
 an ultrasonic loudspeaker held in the ear section of the eyewear temple: 
 a parametric audio unit electrically connected to the ultrasonic loudspeaker; 
 wherein the eyewear temple is configured so that when the eyewear temple is placed as intended at the wearer's ear, then the ear section is spaced apart from the ear opening and disposed so that the sound waves generated by the ultrasonic loudspeaker are transmitted over the ear's surroundings to the ear opening; 
 wherein the parametric audio unit is configured to generate via the ultrasonic loudspeaker, an audible sound beam directed in a sound propagation direction toward the wearer's ear opening; 
 wherein the parametric audio unit is configured to generate the sound beam by the ultrasonic loudspeaker to include a primary wave and a secondary wave following the primary wave in the sound propagation direction, which is demodulated due to air absorption; and 
 wherein when the eyewear temple is placed as intended at the wearer's ear, then an absorption length of the primary wave is less than or equal to a distance between the ultrasonic loudspeaker and the ear opening, wherein the absorption length is less than or equal to 5 cm.